as long as our hearts are beating
by onesparkforafire
Summary: After years of abuse, Naruto runs to find a better path in life. What he didn't expect to find was an emotional bond with a very unlikely boy... rated M for a reason. Please read and review.
1. Prologue

**A/N : Naruto does not belong to me sadly, my dreams will never come true D': this is my first fanfic so be bloody patient, please read and review 3**

Naruto sighed as he leaned his head against the wall of his bedroom, tugging off his orange t-shirt. The room was getting hotter and smaller as the time went by.  
"Fuck, fuck, fuck…" Naruto mumbled as he fell against the floor, the weight of the air around him pushing against him. He quieted his panting to listen carefully to the sounds in the hallway.  
Hearing nothing, Naruto closed his eyes in relief, his father wasn't there. Absentmindedly touching the three symmetrical scars on his face, Naruto thought of the day that this hell became his home.  
* * * flashback * *  
The younger Naruto gripped onto his treasured, beat-up teddy bear as his new parents led him into his new home. His parents had died in a car accident a few years before and now he had finally been adopted. Naruto was a trouble-maker and always had been. The sweet blue eyes often misled people into thinking he was a well-behaved boy. The day that Naruto had broken chairs, a bed and almost all the walls in the house, that family gave him up, taking him back to the orphanage when he was 15. "Don't worry, Naruto, you'll find your family one day" The leader of the orphanage, Iruka, patted his spiky hair and left him to unpack his bags. Instead of unpacking, Naruto sat on the old, dusty bed and stared at the old photograph of his real family. His father, Minato looking laid back with a lazy smile and one arm around his wife, red-headed Kushina.  
Tears steadily falling from his eyes and down his face, Naruto fell back and slept. Weeks later, the other kids avoided Naruto at all costs. Naruto was lonely, sitting on his bed, wiping away tears just as Iruka poked his head in the door, a big smile on his face. "Naruto, you have visitors"  
Soon after that, Naruto was leaving the orphanage one more time with his new parents Mizuki and Shizune, grinning like crazy. He bolted into the house and turned to look at his family…to his surprise, there weren't any smiles. Feeling a little scared Naruto opened his mouth to ask what the problem was but before he could get a word out, Mizuki slapped Naruto in the face, leaving a bright pink mark. "Mizuki!" Shizune was shocked but he just walked out of the room and Shizune apologized, promising it wouldn't happen again. That promise was broken everyday since.  
* * end flashback * * *


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N : finally, the second chapter! im sorry the first was so short...i hope you enjoy this one. please read and reveiw- and sadly, i do not own any of these characters... *sniff***

The next morning Naruto bolted through the door as quickly as he could, Shizune had warned him that Mizuki had been drinking last night, her eyes empty.  
Slowing his pace, he thought of Shizune when he first met her. She always laughed and her eyes sparkled like just seeing your face had made her day, then as the years went by Mizuki had darkened her bright colours and smothered her flame, her smiles became rare and Naruto could barely remember what her laugh sounded like. Suddenly, a familiar voice brought him out of his train of thought. He tried on a smile as he saw trade-mark flaming red hair and thick-lined eyes, the boy waving and trying to catch up to him. "Hey! C'mon slow down!" Naruto did what he was told and stopped to wait for his best and only friend, Gaara.  
"Damn, it's the first day of school and already my knapsack is killing me…" he adjusted the bag on his shoulder, frowning as he thought. Naruto relaxed and chuckled "And don't forget, Kakashi is our homeroom teacher…he's gonna love seeing us again…" Gaara just nodded with a slight smile. The think Naruto liked best about Gaara is that he was quiet and never asked questions, but was always there for him. The two boys walked the rest of the way in silence, the only sound their feet slapping against the sidewalk.  
To be honest Naruto was glad that the school year had started; it meant that he had time out the hell-hole he calls home, time away from his "father" and more time with Gaara, pretending to do homework, or just some much needed alone time.  
Quietly the blond and the red-head stepped into their English class, noticing with no surprise that their teacher Kakashi Hatake was later than they were. Gaara and Naruto sat at the back, side-by-side like always.  
It was loud in the classroom, kids ranting about their summers and how happy they are to be back with all their old friends. Naruto just silently doodled on his new notebook, Naruto overheard one conversation, one between a blonde and pink haired girl. He'd never seen either of them.  
"Ugh, why did we transfer again?"  
"Because you were certain that that this school would be bursting with hot guys" The pink haired girl snorted and rolled her eyes.  
"Yeah, well, I was wrong, I haven't seen any…Whoa, Sakura…look at that guy over there! What's with those scars? They're kind of creepy..."  
Naruto froze, pencil halted, he shut himself off from everything, shocked. He didn't even pay attention to Gaara trying to comfort him. He just stared at the incomplete fox on his paper, wishing that he and the fox could just trade places.  
"Class, be quiet." A book slammed against a desk. Naruto didn't have to look up to know that it was Kakashi. The entire class went quiet as Kakashi gazed at the students, bored look in his eyes, though the year had just begun. "Ah, Naruto and Gaara, sitting in the back I see…now to make this easier for everyone, Naruto, why don't you just go sit by Hinata?" Deciding not to argue, he picked up his books and walked slowly to the vacant spot beside the dark-haired girl, pretending not to notice that her cheeks burned a bright pink when he sat down. Returning to his doodle, he also pretended not to feel Gaara's jealous stare bore into the back of his head. For the rest of the class, Naruto ignored the world around him, trying to become invisible.  
Naruto tried to run to his next class, but Gaara caught him before he could get far enough. "Naruto…you could have said something…" the red head didn't look him in the eye and as Naruto tried to push a sentence out of his clumsy mouth, he just turned and walked away. All Naruto could do was stand there, watching his friends back as he left for his next class, trying to convince himself that he couldn't have done anything-knowing very well that all he had to do was open his mouth…  
"I'm such the best fucking friend on this planet..." Naruto mumbled to himself, walking through the halls, ignoring anyone who might've said hello, anyone who remembered the bright, sparkling Naruto. Like Shizune, Naruto had stopped pretending to be happy a long time ago. Quickly turning a corner, Naruto ran smack into someone's chest, his own book falling to the ground at their feet. The boy bent to pick up the book and when he handed it to Naruto, all he could do was gape. The boy was none other than Sasuke Uchiha. With a smirk, the raven-like boy just balanced the notebook on the spikes of blond hair and walked away, calling "watch where you're going next time!" over his shoulder. As if in a dream, Naruto carefully pulled the book from his head, not looking back as he stumbled through the hallway, trying to take in what just happened. Shaking his head, he pushed all thoughts of the raven out of his head. He wouldn't care, he couldn't let himself do that, and he won't bring anyone else into his world. It was bad enough that Gaara knew. He just bit his lip, self consciously tugging the sleeves of his shirt even farther down his arms, only the tips of his fingers showing as he stepped in his next class-art.  
Being around pens, pencils, paper, canvas or anything that he could create something with instantly relaxed him, brought him into a new world for a while. He could spend days or a moment in that world, it didn't matter to him and it was a break that he yearned for every second of everyday. He looked around the class, at the tables, the paint brushes strewn across counters, the bright paints and the other students, already working on new creations. Naruto let a small smile pull up the corners of his pink lips, a smile that seemed to get a bit more prominent as he noticed a certain blue-black haired girl with bright pink cheeks sitting at one of the large tables; hair tied back, eyes focused on the sketch book in front of her as she drew.  
Knowing that he shouldn't, he sat on the stool across from hers, not saying anything, but smiling as her cheeks flushed and her own smile danced along her lips.

**A/N : ok, i know this doesnt sound like a NaruSasu, but trust me, it is-just be patient, everything will come together mwuahahahaa! **


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N : well, its been a while since I've posted a new chapter, so here it is! Lovely chapter no. 3! Please read and review! :3 oh, and btw, I don't own any of these amazing, beautiful characters. And I'm sorry in advance for any spelling/grammar mistakes**

At the end of the day, Naruto poked his head through the crowds, looking for a certain ginger. The hallways were crowded and Naruto felt the pain of being slammed into lockers more than once. Trying to sneak through the tiny spaces between shoulders, he finally found his friend. Quietly walking beside him, Naruto tried to say hello but he was stopped in his tracks by a cold pale-green stare.

The blonde just stopped moving, confusion filling his features. Gaara just looked away and kept walking, leaving Naruto frozen in the hallways, being shoved around by people he didn't even know, as Naruto took a breath, clutched his book tighter, he continued on his way home, but the moment he stepped through the doors of hell- or school as some people call it- it began to rain.

Giant plops fell from the sky, one after another until Naruto couldn't see the sidewalk in front of him. He couldn't even tell if it was tears or rain that fell down his face.

He didn't know what he did to make Gaara act this way...why did he suddenly act so cold? Was it about Hinata…? Wiping off his face, he decided to not think about it. When the boy got home he was soaked and shivering, having nothing to keep the rain off. He poked his head through the door, deep blue eyes looking for any sign of danger, but all he could see was mess. Take out-containers littering the floor, books and papers on every surface available, beer bottles strewn about on counters, tables and a few steps on the staircase. Oh, and wouldn't want to forget the cobwebs and spiders that inhabited every corner of the house.

Waiting a few more moments, Naruto decided to it was safe to enter, taking off his wet socks and shoes as he did. Tip-toeing into the 'family' room, Naruto couldn't help but smile a little as he saw Mizuki passed out on the couch. If he stayed quite, he'd be safe.

Taking the stairs two at a time and making a dash to his room, Naruto finally took the time to sigh in relief. Safe, that's all he's ever wanted to be. Pulling the shirt over his head, he thought of the last time he felt truly safe in this world… it must have been the day before his parents…Naruto shook his head, refusing to go back to those days, not wanting to think about the care-free life he once had, the memories making his heart squeeze painfully.  
Before more tears could fall, Naruto did what he did best, he shut himself off from everything around him, refusing to let the pain overwhelm him…he did that once, and he wont ever do it again. 'I promised myself...' he muttered, gently touching the three faint scars on his cheek, a bad habit of his whenever he was worried about something.  
He crawled into his bed, quickly grabbing and pulling the sheets over his head and also sending his bedside lamp crashing to the floor, knocking over several books off an inconveniently placed shelf. Naruto winced, trying to correct the mess quickly, hoping that no one heard. A few moments later, he heard heavy feet coming up the stairs. There was a loud bang as the door slammed against the wall. The book from Naruto's hands fell through his paralyzed fingers. He couldn't even turn to watch Mizuki prowl towards him.

"What the hell, boy? You think it's ok to come into my house and attempt to destroy it!"  
Naruto didn't answer. Bad idea, always a bad idea but what could he do? He was helpless when it came to Mizuki…so he just hunched in his shoulders, trying to become smaller. The footsteps just got closer. It was dead silent, Naruto knew what was about to happen.  
"Turn around."  
He didn't.  
"I said turn around, damn it!" grabbing the blondes shoulder, he roughly spun him so the two were facing each other. Naruto was almost as tall as Mizuki now, lifeless dark blue eyes almost meeting up with steely dead ones.  
"You're a burden." Mizuki spat, it was what Naruto heard before he felt pain explode from the side of his face. Naruto stumbled back, but he clenched his teeth, staying quiet. He didn't want to hive him any satisfaction in letting him know how much it hurt. That wasn't the end, nowhere close, he'd only just begun.

"What, you can't say anything? Little boy can't stand up for himself?" Mizuki growled, a hate burning in his eyes. "You're pathetic, you know that?" he kicked a book roughly from under his foot to the opposite side of the room, taking one step closer to Naruto. Another punch, making Naruto taste blood and see stars. 'Just take it, be strong...' he told himself, closing his eyes, refusing to let them fill with tears.

The thing he knew, Mizuki was pinning Naruto to the wall, his hand at his throat the only thing holding him up. Trying to suck in a breath, Naruto started to panic, clawing at the hand and kicked viscously as sweat began to bead on his forehead, watching the amused smile twist the other mans face. A smile that widened and grew more sadistic each time he brought a hand down on Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened when Mizuki pulled out a lighter from his pocket, letting the little flame burn the side of Naruto's face, making him cry out, no longer able to hold it in. Mizuki wasn't going to stop there. He brought the lighter to Naruto's hands, burning several of his fingers, one at a time. Naruto screamed, begging for him to stop, but he never did. His voice quickly gave up, being overwhelmed with sobs and tremors from the pain.

After what seemed like forever, Mizuki took his arm away, letting Naruto fall into a heap on the floor and began to walk from the room as if nothing had happened. Trembling and cradling his burned hands to his chest, he muttered "I-I hate...you..."

Mizuki just paused and turned, kicking the boy hard. The two heard a loud crack as his foot made contact with Naruto's chest. Naruto cried out as Mizuki just laughed- it was a cold and rough sound, as if he forgot how to even chuckle.

"I don't care. Your feeling aren't worth shit to me or to anybody." And with that, he was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N : here it is! The next chapter! Thanks to everyone who has been following this story, it means a lot to me ^.^ ** ***hugs* please Read and Review (I don't own any of these characters)**

Naruto attempted to climb up onto his knees but just fell back to the ground with a painful thud. He bit his lip as the pain coursed through his body, tears welling in his eyes again. He tried over and over again but wasn't quite strong enough.  
That was the worst part-his weakness. He could never fight back; the monster was just too strong, even when he was piss drunk. He wasn't strong enough to face the pain or to hold back his tears, the tears that always betrayed him, made him even weaker…his tears were worthless. He couldn't do anything- Mizuki was always right.  
'If I can't do this, what _can_ I do?' Naruto stayed on the floor laying on his side, pulling in ragged breaths as he stared at the plain wall of his bedroom, these thoughts cycling around his head. He stayed there until the rain that was pounding on the window turned to a trickle and eventually a gentle pitter patter, and then stopping altogether, letting the moon stretch through, and falling onto Naruto. He didn't even bother to notice.  
In the absolute silence of the room, there was a soft tap on the door. The boy didn't move, he barely blinked, sapphire eyes locked onto a tiny spider that was trying to build its home where the wall met the floor.  
"…Naruto?" Shizune's voice called from the door. When there was no answer, she let herself in. "Naruto!" she rushed over, falling to her knees beside him whispering "Damn, he did it again…" she carefully checked Naruto's for any broken bones, a tired sigh escaping her lips when he cried out when she checked his ribs.  
"Sit up. I'll take you to the hospital." she ordered, but he just kept watching the spider. She understood, but wasn't going to leave him there. She stood, picking Naruto up from the armpits, bringing him to his feet, snapping at him to be quiet when he yelped in pain. By the time Shizune had him at the car, Naruto was sweating, gritting his teeth but refusing to let any sound past his mouth, doing what he was told and staying quiet.  
Throughout the entire car ride, he looked up and out the window, up at all the stars in the black sky, making a wish on each and every one of them, wishing that he could wake up from this nightmare he lived in. He clenched his hands into fists, making the burns sting with pain, bringing Naruto back down, away from the stars that he wanted to get lost in, the stars that he would never be able to reach.

That night, Naruto didn't get any sleep, they got home from the hospital at five AM, the nurse had been giving them odd looks the entire time was there, not quite believing the story "I just got in a friendly fight with a friend." And neither did the doctor, asking Naruto "what happened between the two of you for you to be roughed up like this and where is this friend of yours?" while he wrapped a long white bandage around his black and blue torso. His only answer was a shrug.  
It wasn't the pain of his ribs, his hands or the bruises that caused Naruto to curl up under his blankets, what kept the blonde awake and scared through the night was the pain in his heart, of constantly knowing that he was never good enough, never strong enough to fight for himself, to make himself happy. Tears were in his eyes, but throughout the early-morning, they never quite found the way down his face until the sun slowly rose, turning the deep gray sky into a pale blue.  
Naruto walked down the stairs, carefully pulling a baggy hoodie over his head, pulling his black chuck's on when he got to the door, and swiftly walking onto the sidewalk, not looking back to see the treacherous argument unfold in the kitchen.  
The air was crisp and clean from the rain the night before. As tired as he was, he put one foot in front of the other, just trying to put the night behind him. There was a bit of rain falling from the clouds, and that was one reason why Naruto pulled the hood over his head, the other reason was standing on the opposite side of the street, red hair flaming in the pale morning light.  
The blond changed his pace to be a little faster, catching up to the figure ahead of him, blending in so Gaara wouldn't notice him. Naruto kept his gaze on the darkened cement, staying quiet as he walked beside the boy.  
"Hey" startled at the hello, his eyes flashed up to the mouth that voiced it. The lips were thin and pale, but a killer curve to save them, his eyes moved up the planes of the face to meet dark orbs that belonged to Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto's mouth dropped before he ran. But before he could get far, a hand caught his elbow. Turning he saw Sasuke's dark orbs with a hint of worry behind them "You look like you could use some company"

**A/N : just sayin' but has anyone realized that the fancy 'and' symbol (&) kinda looks like a guy scooting his ass across the floor? Teehee :3 but anyway, I hoped you like the chapter! Sorry for the long wait, ima procrastinator, I'll try to update sooner: D**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I don't own Naruto and never will. So, I lied and didn't update quickly-I'm sorry, hope you guys enjoy- please read and review, it'd really help me out**

The dark haired boy smirked, though the concern never quite left his eyes, as the blonde stood dumbfounded in front of him. "Y-y-you're Sasuke Uchiha" his eyes widened, not truly believing that the schools heart throb was standing right there. "Yes, and you're Naruto Uzumaki." All the blonde could do was nod his head, untrusting gaze never leaving the boy who held his arm.

Sasuke began walking again, dragging Naruto with him, not letting go of the tight hold he had on his wrist. The boys were quiet, Naruto wincing as his rib throbbed with dull pain. The two made it to the end of the street without saying anything.

"So, that's a nice bruise you've got there." He didn't look at Naruto as he spoke, just kept walking casually with the smirk on his face that never seemed to completely disappear.

Naruto just stayed silent not wanting to talk, just wanting to be alone-though as much as he wanted to leave, he couldn't deny that the presence of the Uchiha was almost soothing. There was a pressure on Naruto's bandaged fingers, making him yank his  
hand away from the Uchiha, pain stinging his hands. The other boy just shrugged, "So?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked up from his hand to Sasuke who had already been staring but didn't look away when their eyes met-making the blonde flinch away. "I asked how you got that bruise on your face."

Naruto brushed his fingers along the bruise on his cheek, suddenly cold in the warm morning air. His face hardened, remembering. "Nowhere special." And with that he just ducked his head and stared at the concrete below his feet.

That's when he felt another soft squeeze on his sore fingers and again, he pulled his hand away. "You're persistent." His comment didn't seem to affect the Uchiha at all because he just slipped his hand into the other boy's again, laughing. "I'm, aware" Though Naruto didn't complain about the act itself, the hand in his felt odd, foreign but…comforting

Naruto didn't pull his hand away, relaxing at the warmth that seemed to spread from his hand. Sasuke didn't say anything and neither did Naruto. They stayed that way until they reached the school yard. Sasuke stopped bringing the other boy to a stop as well.

Looking at the dark haired boy's face, Naruto remembered the place he was in. he stood there a minute, as the bell rang through the air. With that Naruto tore his hand away, pulled up his hood and ran, ignoring it when Sasuke called out his name.

Quietly Naruto ran up the stairs and slipped into his class taking his seat by Hinata, not looking at her, Pinky or Blondie, Gaara or anyone else. He just set his books out and began to doodle cherry blossoms on the corners of a page-though holding a pencil proved to be difficult in his bandaged hands.

Half-way through the class Naruto was mesmerized by his cherry blossoms that engulfed his papers when-"Naruto, could you give us the answer to question four please?" The blonde snapped his head up, eyes wide with shock "I…um…" He glanced back down at his work-less papers

"Well?" Irritation was seeping into Kakashi's voice as he waited for an answer that he would never get. That's when a small whisper cam across the desk to Naruto's rescue "False, the character faced inner turmoil that seemed physical-only because guilt was driving him insane"

Naruto repeated the answer, stumbling over his words but Kakashi was pleased with his answer. Naruto gave a small, quiet 'thank-you' to the girl beside him, and she just nodded, her blue-ish hair falling over her blushing face.

A few minutes later a little scrap paper fell on Naruto's desk. He unfolded the paper to reveal some girly scrawl, as he read, he heard snickers

'Lovely little scars there, fox boy-what are they, whiskers? Wanna tell us the sob story behind them? We're just curious is all'

Under the message there was a little kiss mark-left behind by some pink lip-gloss. Naruto crumpled the note into a tiny ball, gritting his teeth and threw it clear across the room, gasping quietly at the pain that curled around and gripped his torso.

A second later, the bell rang, telling all the kids to jump from their seats and race to the door, the class was nearly empty, only Hinata and Naruto left-Kakashi was always the first out of the room, more eager to leave than his students.

Naruto just glared ahead, not really mad at the note, just the way it made him remember. There was a small tap on his shoulder "N-Naruto..?" He didn't respond to her, just clenched his fists. "A-are...are you oh-okay…?" Naruto glanced up to see big lavender eyes looking at him with concern. "Just…I'm fine, ok?" carefully, so he didn't cause any more pain in his ribs, he gathered up his books and left the bluenette alone.


	6. Chapter 6

**So, I don't own Naruto! Thank you everyone for being so patient for this chapter ^.^ I hope you enjoy, please read/review…please review…gooby, plz..**

Running from the room, Naruto made his way through the over-crowded hallways, ignoring the sharp pain that came from each bump and shove that came from every direction. Frustration clouded the boy's thoughts, slamming his way into the bathroom he forgot that he should have been in art, sitting next to that pretty, lavender-eyed girl.

He thought of her, her gentle face…grinding his teeth together, hating Pinkie and Blondie, the note and Gaara. He hated the beige walls that were pressing him down, he hated that it hurt to move, or even breathe.  
Crying out his anger, the blonde boy lashed out, sending his fist flying, straight through a mirror, sending his judging reflection in shards down to the floor. The glass tinkled and glittered as Naruto stared in shock as blood began to drip slowly down his hand, making thin red ribbons down the wall, to the floor.

As he moved his hand, more of the mirror fell, but most just stayed lodged in his knuckles. He couldn't think-he just lifted his hand up and plucked the largest shards out of his hand, barely wincing at the sting.  
Tears stung his eyes and he fell to his knees, gripping the glass in his fingers, feeling the warm blood begin to drip. Staring ahead, thinking nothing made the silence in the small room bounce off the walls, drowning Naruto in everything he couldn't say. Slowly moving his hand, Naruto brought the glass to the soft inside of his wrist-taking a shaky breath, refusing to look when the glass took the first bite.

Quietly, Naruto picked up the glass and wiped up the little drips of blood from the walls and floor though the stains on his skin remained. Quickly, Naruto picked up the shattered glass and wiped away the little trickles of blood, but the blood that stained his hands remained.  
Without any emotion, he slipped into a stall, slid to the ground and just sat. His eyes were blank, he had nothing, was nothing and nothing was there-not glass, not blood, not him, no past or future-just a flat beige wall in front of him.

He didn't know how long he was there, but he heard the bell echo through the hallways. Naruto moved his bright blue eyes from the wall to the ceiling, tired. He waited until the sounds coming from the halls were gone before climbing up off the floor and cautiously opening the heavy door. He made his way across the hall, to an exit, when the door slammed shut behind him; he yanked his hood over his blonde spikes, hoping to not get caught cutting class, but he had to get out of hell.

Casually, he walked down the sidewalk, letting it take him where it wanted-his feet happily obliged, though the blonde didn't notice the raven-haired boy who had been watching him.

Cold wind tore at Naruto's face, burning his scarred cheeks, but he just stared at the grey sky. It was a dreary day, the dark clouds hanging low while the tree branches seemed to be stretching up, trying to reach something. Finding himself in a park, Naruto carefully laid back in the grass, the only thought wandering through his mind was that he hurt. Everywhere. His feet ached, his chest throbbed and his arm burned. He took a shaky breath.

"Dobe."

"what." He heard footsteps slowly get closer to him; he shut his eyes when he felt Sasuke sit next to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you that."

Both boys stayed silent. Naruto wouldn't open his eyes, though he could feel black eyes watching him. As they laid in the grass, Sasuke reached and carefully cradled Naruto's bloodied hand in his own, causing his hand to sting. "You never answered me." "hm." The blonde just stared, feeling sick to his stomach. "Blood, glass, this huge hoodie? Why!" "Hm." He gritted his teeth, Sasuke didn't have his normal aura around him-he was pushing, determined to figure him out.

"Why?"

"Hm."

Sasuke jumped up, roughly yanking Naruto up with him. He glared at Naruto, black eyes burning while pressing his forehead against his. "What! Why don't you say anything?! Why! Why won't you tell me why you never answer!? Why is there blood on my hand? Why that sweater?"

"No! Just stop, ok?! I don't want to tell you, I don't want you to know! I don't want you around anymore, Sasuke! And there is no why!" The blonde was nearly growling and spitting on Sasuke's face as he shouted. The other boy glared, Sasuke's dark eyes burning, Naruto's blue ones stormy.

Naruto turned to go, but halfway Sasuke turned his shoulder, making the blonde face him, barely giving him enough time to see the fist about to collide with his jaw.

He fell to the ground with a distinct thud, tears shamefully welling in his sapphire eyes. Sasuke kneeled in front of him, not touching him, just looking. Naruto kept his head down, refusing to let the other boy see his tears, his weakness.

"Stupid, you shouldn't refuse help when it's offered." He reached into his knapsack and pulled out a black book, with a tattered cover. "By the way, you dropped this in the halls; I thought that you'd want it back and, you're not half-bad, either." With that, he stood up. "T-thank you…" Naruto spoke in barely a whisper, but Sasuke smiled at him anyway "I was there for you all those years ago, Naruto… that hasn't changed."

Sasuke walked away, leaving Naruto sitting on the soft grass, rain and tears plopping down on his sketch book. As tears fell silently, he flipped through the pages, he watched them transition from strangers to sketches of Hinata-her strange eyes and beautiful hair, always with a faint blush across her cheeks, even if she was giggling or just hunched over her sketchbook, drawing.

Naruto flipped to the last page and instantly slammed the book shut on the drawing of Sasuke and his captivating eyes-a drawing he had done just the day before. He gritted his teeth and blush crept up his face-He wished that he had punched him back, he made him so angry…but…Taking his bloodied hand, Naruto opened his book to the sketch of Sasuke. Swiftly, he dragged his hand along the page, searing it with blood and a few specks of glass-glittering like little stars on the raven-haired boy.


End file.
